Brendan Rodgers has waded into the war of words between Scott Brown and Craig Levein –accusing the Hearts boss of being obsessed with the Celtic skipper.

Rodgers reckons Levein's latest blast on Brown, in which he claimed the midfielder got himself booked deliberately against Kilmarnock to avoid being suspended for the next Rangers game, is unwarranted.

But he claims it should be taken as a compliment by his captain.

Rodgers said today: "He is a wee bit obsessed with Browny, isn’t he?

"I think it is a huge compliment for Browny that Craig keeps talking about him, if he does, especially as we don't play them for a little while.

"Browny is a very competitive player. There is nothing really to answer on that."

Craig Levein

Asked how comfortable he was with other managers speaking about his players in public, he said: "It is not something that any manager likes so much. It is not something I do unless I am praising a player for his qualities. It is each to their own."

Levein lit the fuse last week after his Hearts side were dumped 4-0 at Parkhead by claiming that everyone "needs a little protection from Scott Brown".

It followed a hard tackle from the Hoops man which left Hearts teenager Harry Cochrane nursing a collarbone injury.